I asked sleep
for nothing.
No memories.
No warnings.
No strange rooms
built from
old fear.
Just darkness.
Clean,
quiet,
dreamless.
But sleep
has never been
good
at following
instructions.
Some nights
I lie awake
so long
the house
changes personality.
The fridge hums
too loudly.
Pipes
speak
inside the walls.
Every shadow
becomes
a thought
I forgot
to worry about
during daylight.
By 3 a.m.
my mind
is a courtroom
with no judge.
Every mistake
called back
to testify.
Every fear
allowed
to object.
I do not need
beautiful dreams.
I would settle
for silence.
One night
where my brain
does not turn
the dark
into work.
Until then,
I watch
the numbers
change
on the clock
and wait
for morning
to dismiss
the case.
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